Blindness
by Melira
Summary: When Matt's senses get dampened, he has to deal with the world the same way every other blind man does. Which Foggy finds extremely funny.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note:  
Hej there again!  
So, this is me jumping fandom for the first time. Abandoning Young Justice for Daredevil. Good choice? Bad choice? I don't know, we'll see.  
This story is not to be taken too seriously, just as a warning.  
As usually: I don't own anything and I don't make any money. Although I'd like to be paid in reviews, if you don't mind taking the time to write a word or two. I'd be delighted!  
Second thing: For those of you (most) who haven't read anything I published: English is not my mothertongue. So if there are (major) mistakes, tell me about them, I can't get better if nobody corrects me.  
That being said: Have fun reading_

It was completely silent. Inside the building he currently was in, at least. From outside there came a whole lot of different sounds of course. Nothing unusual though. But inside this abandoned apartment house, there wasn't so much as the hum of electricity, not to mention a living being. Matt wasn't sure whether this was a good or a bad sign. The trail had led him here, unmistakeably, so maybe the gang he currently was after just happened to be out. That would be a first, but who knew...

Not letting his guard down, he took in his surroundings. Behind him the entrance door, to the left a small cabin, probably where the receptionist had once sat, half a lifetime ago. There was a kind of mattress in there, he could smell sweat and nicotine. A smoker had spent quite some time in there. Judging by how faint the odour had become, Matt guessed the habitation had been left a month earlier. In a hurry, if the pile of clothing still lying next to the mattress was anything to go by. He guessed, it had been due to the gang of dealers moving in.

He let his senses drift a little further away. He was standing in a combination of entrance hall and hallway. The room was spaciously and every few meters there was a door leading to an empty flat. Most of them stood ajar or were missing entirely. Only the one in the far right corner seemed to be intact.

He silently walked over there, careful. The building being empty didn't mean there was no potential danger. When he reached the closed door, he stopped, listening even more intensely. Still no sound at all.

He slowly pressed the handle, it gave way with a small clicking noise and the door opened a few millimetres. Nothing happened.

Matt pushed it open a little farther and stepped inside. There was a low hissing noise and suddenly an unknown smell filled the air. He tried to avoid breathing in but it was too late. The too sweet aroma filled his lungs and made him cough.

Matt immediately stepped backwards, out of the room and away from the stench. What had this gas been? He had never smelled anything like it before. It was slightly sickening and he was afraid, he wouldn't be able to get it out of his nose again for days. Not to mention any potential damages it might cause. He knew a lot of poisons but since new ones came up every few days, he was far from knowing _all_ of them.

Deciding to wait a few minutes until the air had cleared and then going back in with a cloth he carried protecting his mouth and nose, Matt turned on the spot. He didn't like standing in the middle of this hall. But suddenly, his vision got blurry. The world on fire got somehow fuzzy on the edges. Matt tried to clear his head by shaking it but it was no use. He could feel himself starting to panic. What was that gas he had just inhaled? Not a serious toxin, please. If there was one thing he didn't need right now, it was being poisoned. In order to calm himself down, he let his hearing wander until he found two teenagers opposite of this buildings entrance. They were discussing a movie they had just seen. He focused on them, blacking everything else out. It was kind of a mini-meditation. If you can't concentrate, pick one thing and don't let your mind drift away from it. Usually, that technique worked fairly well. And it surely would have today, too. If it hadn't been for the fact that it became harder to understand the girls by the moment. After mere seconds he couldn't hear them at all anymore. What was happening? With his hearing limited to an apparently human range, he anxiously tested his other senses. No seeing, of course. Touch... Dull. He couldn't make out the seams on the inside of his costume anymore or feel the fluctuations of the air that usually told him about the smallest movements around him. Olfaction... Nothing. No sign of the sweat from the receptionist's room or even the sweet stench from mere minutes ago which had seemed to be so overwhelming. Taste... Nada. Not even the stale air he knew he was currently breathing. He was surrounded by pure blackness.

He could feel his pulse speeding up and hear the blood rushing through his head which was worrying considering his obviously dampened senses. He was freaking out, there was no denying it. Panic washed over him as he realized what had happened. In a matter of seconds he had lost his sight. Again. Chemicals really seemed to be the death of him.

True, there was hope this one only worked temporarily as most drugs did so it wasn't permanent this time but still. It would at least give him quite a lot of trouble. Currently, he was standing in a foreign building, dressed up as Daredevil and with no way of getting home over the rooftops. He shortly considered actually trying to use his usual ways but rejected the idea after the first three steps. He didn't even sense where the walls around him were anymore. It was frustrating. He made a careful noise, trying to locate his surroundings by the echoes but it didn't work. His voice was instantly lost in nothing and no picture painted itself in his head. Robbed of this last hope to orientate himself, Matt put his arms out in front of him. A careful step in what he assumed was the direction of the nearest wall. The one with the fateful door. Another one. He felt ridiculous, swinging his hands from one side to the other, trying to locate the now truly invisible obstacles. After another two steps, probably the slowest ones he had ever taken, he finally reached the wall. His fingertips touched the concrete it was made of and he stopped. If this was how difficult moving around without no sight really was, he couldn't help but be utterly pessimistic about his way home. He didn't even have his cane with him! For a moment calling Foggy crossed his mind but he instantly rejected the idea. Sure, his friend would help him, but Matt knew how much the other man loathed the fact that he was the Daredevil, so he decided not to bother him with it. Especially not because something had gone wrong and his blindness proved to be a major problem. That was exactly was Foggy was worried about most. So, somehow getting home on his own it was, then.

He cautiously made his way back to the building's entrance, his left hand constantly trailing along the wall. He didn't dare stepping normally, afraid of hitting some of the debris scattering the floor, so he shuffled his feet over the ground without ever lifting them. It felt stupid and worrying at the same time. He wasn't used to being so helpless, so unaware. If someone wanted to do him harm, all he'd need to do was sneak up on Matt and hit him over the head. He wouldn't even notice until it was too late. At that thought, a cold shiver ran down his spine and he shook himself, trying to concentrate again.

If he remembered correctly, there couldn't be left more than a few feet until he was about to hit the wall with the entrance door. When he reached it after another few steps, he walked over to the receptionist's cabin where he had sensed the heap of clothing lying on the floor earlier.

It took what felt like ages to get there, especially because at every step into the room, he had to make a semi-circular movement with his foot in order to find the fabric lying somewhere.

When he had finally found it, he knelt down next to it, grabbing it and carefully trying to find out what it was. It turned out to be a pair of trousers, stiff with dirt, and a hoodie smelling so bad, he could sense it from inches away. The thought of putting them on was disgusting but he had no choice. He had to disguise himself if he wanted to walk home. If he didn't, he would be spotted after mere seconds. After all, this costume wasn't exactly inconspicuous.

He pulled the pants on and removed his mask before storing it away in his waistband. The hoodie's stench almost made him gag when he pulled it over his head but he resisted the urge to instantly get rid of it again. It was necessary.

The clothes were far too baggy, they hung loosely on his slim frame but he guessed that was an advantage rather than a hindrance. Like this, the outlines of his costume would be covered and everybody would just mark him off as a homeless drunk, not spending another glance.

The way back home proved to be even more difficult than Matt had anticipated. He kept close to the walls whenever possible but couldn't avoid crossing three streets in order to reach his apartment. He was just glad it was the middle of the night, so there weren't too many cars to keep track of. Even with his limited hearing, he was able to guess whether they were far enough away for him to safely step off the pavement or not. More than once he stumbled over some unseen obstacle and he hit his toes twice on lantern posts. It felt ridiculous.

When Matt reached his front door, he was exhausted in a way he barely ever was under normal circumstances. Constantly worrying because you had no idea what was going on around you definitely took it's toll.

All Matt wanted to do was drop onto his bed and get at least the remaining three hours of sleep until his alarm clock would go off. But he knew, he would regret it later. A shower was more than necessary if he didn't want to risk keeping the borrowed clothes' smell on him for the next two months.

He slowly walked down the stairs descending to his flat from the roof access. Maybe he should think about taking his keys with him from now on for cases like this. It hadn't exactly been easy to find his way across the unmarked space between the door coming from the hallway and the one leading to his apartment.

He let his left hand slide along the wall and his right one trail on the banister, keeping an even pace. Unfortunately, he miscounted the steps and hit the floor at the end of the stairs harder than intended. He felt the jolt going up his spine and through his whole body. He cursed under his breath.

Carefully making his way to the bathroom, Matt strained his hearing, trying to catch any sound from outside his flat, hoping there was at least the smallest improvement. But he could hear nothing but a siren directly underneath his window. No conversations on the street and no fine humming from the billboard that apparently lit his living space. It was eerily quiet to his usually so well-tuned ears. He felt a wave of hopelessness washing over him. If this proved to be permanent, his life as he knew it would be over. Both lives, in fact. That Daredevil would have no future was obvious but even some of his advantages as a lawyer would be gone. No knowing if someone told the truth, no listening to conversations that weren't meant for his ears and no learning about peoples habits by their smells anymore. For the first time in almost two decades being blind would be a major disadvantage to him.

He had to force the dark thoughts out of his mind. Brooding was no use. He didn't know what was to come, only time would tell and consciously he knew that. Telling his subconscious though was an entirely different matter.

Once there, Matt shed the layers of clothing on the bathroom floor, barely caring enough to kick them in a corner. He would think about them later. He felt his way along the sink and to the towel rail next to it. He picked one of the big cloths and threw it over the edge of his shower's curtain rod. Glad it had worked on the first try, he stepped into the tub, closed the curtain and turned on the water.

It felt infinitely different to what he was used to. Less, in every way. He wasn't able to make out the different jets of water that hit his skin or determine their exact temperature. He couldn't smell the faint remains of the chemicals from the sewage works or taste the copper of his building's pipes. As much as all those stimuli sometimes threatened to overwhelm him when he didn't manage to block the unimportant ones out – right now he missed every single one of them.

After nearly the quarter of an hour under the hot stream he forced himself to turn it off again. He pulled down the towel and slung it around his body but the cold air on his still wet skin made him shiver nonetheless.

Still keeping one hand at the wall next to him, he made his way to his bedroom. Feeling through his wardrobe, he pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

This way dressed, Matt carried the now wet towel back to it's point of origin, leaving it there to dry. Afterwards he picked up the Daredevil costume and stashed it away in the usual chest beneath his father's old belongings.

Every action took him at least three times as long as usual, it was unnerving. Matt shortly debated trying to meditate before he finally went to sleep. It usually sped up his healing process, so maybe it would help with this, too, but he dismissed the idea again. He was just to tired to concentrate enough. Maybe tomorrow.

He fell into his bed, completely exhausted, and pushing away every thought about what perhaps was to come or not. He knew, if he let himself think about what had happened tonight, the worry would prevent him from getting any rest which was the last thing he wanted. If his way back home had been any indication, the next day would be exhausting even with what little sleep he had left and without any extracurricular activities.

 _A/N: Review? Review._ _Would be nice, anyway. See you in the next chapter! :-)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note:  
As you all know: I don't own anything. And I don't make any money...  
By the way, excuse my short chapters. But as I'm not exactly a fast writer, it's either that or possibly no update in ages... I thought this was better.  
As usually: Feel free to correct my mistakes.  
And last but not least: Thanks Guest Reviewer Sarah! You absolutely made my day by commenting. And thanks for the advice, I'll try to follow it as best as I can._

Foggy was sitting on the edge of Karen's desk, only half of his mind on their conversation. His eyes kept wandering to the clock on the wall. Ten to half past nine. Twenty minutes after usually all three of them showed up for work. And Matt still wasn't there. Foggy couldn't help but worry. His best friend was never late. He always came, no matter how beat up he was. He didn't dare imagining what must have happened to Matt that he still wasn't here and hadn't even called to excuse himself.  
Foggy grew more anxious by the minute but tried not to let it show. There was no need to get Karen worried as well. Useless to say that he failed epically.

"... Foggy?" Her voice calling his name got him out of his musings.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm all ears. I totally agree with you there." He wasn't exactly sure what she had last been talking about but since agreeing most of the time did the trick, he thought it was the best way to go about it.

"You have no idea what I just said, do you?"

"Yes, I do!" She looked at him sceptically. "Yeah, you're right, no, I don't. Sorry", he said again.

"You know, he'll be there. Matt", she explained when he looked at her uncomprehending.

"Of course he will!" Foggy was aware of his not really convinced tone but he couldn't help it.

"There probably just was a problem with the subway or something."

"Then why didn't he call?" He could hear the worry creep into his voice.

"No service in the tunnels? I don't know. But I'm certain there's a perfectly logic explanation for Matt's absence."

"Sure", Foggy said, running a hand over his face and through his hair. It was very well for her to talk. She didn't know about the dangers Matt put himself in during the nights.  
Since the day Foggy had found him bleeding out on the floor, he hadn't been able to get the picture out of his head again. Even when he had been so mad at Matt that he couldn't talk to him he had worried. A blind man being a vigilante was insane. No matter what said blind man was capable of!  
Foggy had mostly given up on trying to talk Matt out of it but that didn't change the fact that he was constantly afraid for his best friend's life when he didn't know exactly where he was and what he was doing. It was exhausting.

"Let's give him another couple of minutes. When he hasn't arrived at nine thirty we'll try to call him, alright?" He could hear the almost patronizing tone in her voice but didn't say anything, only nodded.

To get himself distracted, he slid down from the table and moved towards his office. He had only managed about three steps when the front door opened. He swivelled on the spot and was utterly relieved to see Matt standing in the doorway. The man held himself upright and there were no visible new injuries, as far as Foggy could tell. He exhaled slowly to calm himself down.

"Morning, Matt", came Karen's cheerful voice from his left. He saw her casting a glance in his direction, clearly saying: Told you everything was alright.

"Good morning." Matt sounded slightly out of breath. "Sorry I'm late. I slept in, must have missed the alarm. And in the hurry afterwards I completely forgot to call you."

Foggy looked at his best friend inquiringly. That man didn't sleep in. Never had, not even in college. And there was no way he had missed the alarm, not with his insane sense of hearing.

"You alright?", he asked. Matt's head turned in his direction, his eyes hidden behind the dark red glasses as they always were.

"Of course, I'm fine." Foggy wasn't sure if he imagined sensing a lie in the answer. Maybe he was just too suspicious. But then again... Maybe he was observant.

Matt leaned his cane against the wall next to the door as he always did and shed his jacket, hanging it over the coatrack. He started walking towards his office. Was he moving slower than normal? Somehow he seemed more careful to Foggy, more focused on what he was doing.  
Foggy decided to test his theory and look what happened if he broke Matt's concentration. Usually, the man could do twenty things at once and didn't have problems navigating even foreign spaces at the same time, but today... He just seemed to be struggling a little more.

"Have you given any thoughts to the Masco case since yesterday?" he asked.

At the question Matt, who had just reached the constantly open door to his room, miscalculated the space and bumped into the doorframe. Well, that was a first! Foggy had seen him in all stages of being intoxicated or drowsy, but never was Matt this clumsy. At least not when he was still standing perfectly upright as he did now.

This time, even Karen had noticed something was off. "You sure you're alright, Matt?" she asked.

Matt, putting a hand on the doorframe, turned towards her. "Yes. I was just... distracted." He shook his head slightly then moved a little to face Foggy. He missed the right angle by a few degrees. Also a first. "No, sorry, I completely forgot. I'll go over the facts again and tell you what I think, okay?"

"Yeah, of course. I'll get you some coffee. Guess you hadn't time to drink one this morning."

"Thanks!" The answer sounded heartfelt.

While Karen turned to her work again, Foggy kept his eyes on Matt's back, as the other man moved slowly through his office, uncertainly feeling for the table and the chair behind it. He seemed so unsure, so... lost, somehow. For the first time since they met, he really looked like a blind man.

Usually, even when Matt put on the pretence of seeing nothing, he was a hint too self-confident in foreign spaces. You didn't notice unless you paid close attention, but it was always there.  
Today, that air of his was gone. Foggy wondered whether he should be worried or not, he wasn't sure. It was just such a strange thought. Worrying about a blind man appearing to be blind.

Sometimes he asked himself when his life had become so weird. Was it only when he learned about Matt's true capabilities or years before that, when he had first met the blind law school student? In hindsight he could see that his best friend had never seemed to be quite so ordinary.

"Foggy?" For a second time that day Karen's question pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Hm?" He looked at her.

"Do you want me to bring Matt the coffee?"

"No. No, I'll do it. I was just... distracted." He startled when he realised that he had exactly copied Matt's excuse from earlier.

"What is it with you two, today?" Karen asked. "You seem strange, you know that?" Her expression was borderline suspicious.

"It's nothing, really", Foggy hurried to assure her before finally moving to the small kitchen.

Three minutes later, he carried a steaming hot mug into Matt's office and set it down in front of his friend, carefully turning the handle so that Matt could easily reach it without getting is fingers burned first.

Sitting down on one of the chairs opposite the desk, Foggy lowered his voice.

"You care to tell me what's up?"

Matt let his head drop a little, an uncharacteristic movement. "It's too obvious, isn't it?"

"That you behave differently? Hell, yes!" Matt flinched a little. "You may be able to fool Karen, if you put a lot of effort into it, but certainly not me. So, what's the matter?"

Matt lifted his head again, staring in the general direction of Foggy. Even with the glasses on you could tell he didn't get it completely right.

"I'm blind."

The statement was so superfluous, Foggy struggled to suppress a snort. "Oh really? I haven't noticed."

"No, I mean, really blind. No world on fire, nothing." Although he had already thought in that direction, Foggy was a little shocked.

"You... You lost your senses?" Matt nodded. "How?"

"I think it was some kind of drug. Last night, I opened this door in an abandoned building and some weird gas was released. Within seconds I had no idea what was going on around me anymore."

The memory of that traumatic moment was evident in Matt's voice, it obviously had shaken him. Foggy didn't know what to say to that.

He imagined losing his heightened senses was to Matt the same as would losing his sight be to Foggy. He was astounded at how normal his best friend managed to behave. He certainly wouldn't have been able to hold up that good of a facade.

"Well", he finally managed to say, "if it really was a drug, this isn't permanent, is it? I mean, they lose their effect after hours, days max." He could hear the slight worry in his own voice but tried to let it show as little as possible. He didn't want to unsettle Matt even further.

"I hope so..." Matt's voice trailed off.

Inside Foggy's brain something clicked. When a situation seemed to get too serious, he usually tried to shrug it off with a laugh. It had worked pretty good so far and he was determined to give it a try.

"Well, I'm sure it'll wear off. Until then, you finally are what you claimed to be for the past twenty years."

To his relief, Matt played along. "What? A helpless blind man who can't walk across his own flat without breaking something?"

"Exactly. But see the bright side", he could practically see Matt roll his eyes at the bad pun, "if you behave clumsily enough until you're back to normal, maybe Karen will finally believe your stories of 'falling down the stairs' and 'running into the door'. Until now, you really didn't do too good a job at making that credible."

"Believe me, pretending to be blind is not as easy as you would think." There was almost a laugh in Matt's voice. Foggy grinned.

"At least this way I won't have to worry about you." Matt tilted his head questioningly and Foggy explained. "You won't be able to be out on the streets at night, will you?"

Matt snorted. "You should have seen me last night on my way back home! Wait, no, better not. You would never have stopped teasing me about it."

Foggy laughed. "So very true! And you're right, I would have loved that. But you know what? I won't leave your side until you're back to normal again, guess that'll give me plenty to laugh and tease you about. Until further notice you're completely at my mercy." He almost rubbed his hands in gleeful anticipation. "I hope you can hear me gloat."

"I can, dampened senses or not, and I'm truly terrified", Matt retorted, now almost grinning, too.

Foggy laughed, mission accomplished. "And you should be, my friend, you should be."

Karen stuck her head through the door. "What joke did I miss?"

"Insider", Foggy told her, not able to suppress the grin that still tucked at the corners of his mouth.

"Pity. Will you at least let me in on the work's progress?"

Foggy looked at her guiltily. "Uhm, there is none so far."

"Ah, I understand. You two drink coffee and tell each other jokes while I do all the work. I think I should sue you for luring me into an employment under false pretences or something. Is there such a thing?"

"Not exactly, but we can help you find another cause, if you want us to", Matt said helpfully.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Foggy pretended to be shocked. "She just declared us being the defendants and you offer her help? Did you sleep through the lecture '10 Things Not To Do As A Lawyer'?"

"Wait, there was such a lecture? Must have missed it entirely, sorry. Why didn't you tell me?" Matt did his best to sound sheepishly and accusing at the same time.

Karen laughed. "Okay, I think I can forgive you just this once."

Foggy turned on his chair until he faced her entirely and tried to bow without getting up. "Thank you for your graciousness!"

"Oh, shut up. But honestly, we really should talk about work. The first official hearing is due in only a few days."

Matt nodded. "You're right. Let's meet in the conference room in five minutes." With that, he started gathering his things. Karen turned and walked over to her desk while Foggy remained seated for another few seconds. He debated offering Matt help with the mug. Carrying a hot beverage when you could barely maintain a straight line was hard, after all. But then again... No, he would manage. Foggy stood, still grinning and left for his office.

It took him only half a minute to get all the papers he needed. When he had them securely tucked under his left arm, he positioned himself in the doorway, waiting for the others. Especially Matt. When his best friend finally appeared, he had left the coffee behind, only carrying his laptop and some apparently blank sheets.

"You forgot your mug", he stated. Matt grimaced at him.

"I didn't want to ruin your hard work by spilling it all over the already stained floor."

"How would you know it is stained?"

"Intuition", came the immediate response. Foggy decided to take a pity on the man.

"Well, I suppose I could help you out and get the coffee."

"Thank you for your graciousness", Matt copied Foggy's earlier tease. He didn't imitate the bow, though. Which was unusual but logical, considering that Matt hadn't been able to sense the motion. While walking to Matt's office, Foggy mused on how weird it was, having a blind friend but being used to him just knowing about things like nods and small gestures.

 _A/N: Thanks for reading!  
If you liked it, please review. If you didn't... Do it anyway ;-)_


	3. Chapter 3

_Authors Note:  
I'm sorry the update took so long! My last few weeks were so full of studying, there was no time to write or even edit -.-  
But here we go. I'm not exactly content with this chapter, but oh well. It has to do.  
Have fun reading and maybe review :-)  
By the way: Thanks to Guest Reviewer Sarah again! Glad you liked it, really am! And regarding season two... Well, season three will first air in 2018, so you've got plenty of time^^  
And to Guest Reviewer m: Sorry, I didn't plan for this story to be as long as would be needed for your requirements to be fulfilled.  
_

* * *

The rest of the morning passed the same way every other did. Sitting around the big table, occasionally chatting, going through files and trying to determine the best way to approach the case.

Foggy could practically see the tension drain from Matt's whole posture as the man noticed that he was still perfectly able to read Braille at an enormous speed and operate his devices as good as he was used to.

When lunchtime came, Foggy saw his next opportunity to get the better of Matt.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'd like to eat Chinese today", he declared, barely able to contain his grin. He knew, eating with chopsticks would be more than just difficult for Matt and he was eager to see him try.

His best friend turned slightly in his direction and bent his head a little so Foggy could see his eyebrows. He lifted one of them, silently asking 'Honestly? Are you that determined to make a fool out of me?' which made Foggy chuckle.

"Sorry, I can't help it, mate, the opportunity is just too perfect."

Karen looked from one to the other and back again, obviously confused. "Why do I have the constant feeling I'm missing something today?" she asked.

Foggy sent her an apologetic smile. "Still the insider. But not letting you in is nothing personal, promise!"

"Guess I have to be grateful for that. So, Chinese it is, then?"

Foggy looked at Matt, curious about how he would react.

"Not for me, I'd prefer a burger for once."

 _Smooth, Murdock_ , Foggy thought. _But it's not gonna be that easy._

"I'll get the phone and the menus", Karen offered but Foggy shook his head.

"Why don't we eat out for once? I'd like to take a few steps and get some fresh air."

"Fresh air? You do know we're in New York, don't you?"

"Yeah. But even the pure environmental pollution out there is better then the stale air conditioned poison in here." He was not going to give up quite so easily.

Karen looked as if she wanted to say something, but Matt cut her off. "Alright, we should get our coats then, it's not exactly warm outside."

* * *

Yes, Foggy had been the one to push the situation so Matt was forced out on the streets, but slowly he was seriously second guessing that decision.

He couldn't help being slightly rattled by seeing Matt so insecure, so helpless. His usual air of confidence had almost completely vanished, his movements were slow and a bit clumsy. He swung his cane carefully, for once really needing it, sometimes actually hitting one obstacle or another and he was slowing the whole group down, something that had never happened before.

Karen kept casting him sideway glances, ranging from curious to concerned while Foggy couldn't decide if he should be amused or worried. To tell the truth, it kind of unsettled him. Matt had always been the confident one of the two of them. The one radiating calmness. But now... Now he was jumpy, turning his head every other second, trying to determine what was going on around him without ever really making it.

Foggy felt compassion welling up inside him. The urge to help Matt out was becoming stronger every minute but somehow it seemed like finally admitting his help was needed would make the whole thing real. That it would make the possibility real that Matt might never get back to his old abilities. And Foggy refused to let himself believe that. Himself or Matt.

He shook himself, chasing the dark thoughts out of his mind and concentrated on being his normal cheerful self again that used every opportunity to tease everybody around him.

When Matt accidentally bumped into a traffic light which he had narrowly missed with his cane's swing and Foggy still didn't offer him help, Karen let out an exasperated sigh.

"Here", she said, touching Matt's forearm. He gratefully smiled in her direction and took the offered arm.

"Thanks, Karen."

"You're welcome." She cast a reproachful glance a Foggy. "Although I don't understand how come I've inherited this position and why your so called best friend is such an ass today."

In response, Foggy just grinned at her.

"Oh, let him, I deserve it", Matt said. The unexpected statement made Foggy look at him in surprise. He had no idea what the other man was getting at.

"You do?" Karen sounded just as confused.

"I'm afraid so, yes."

"What could you possibly have done to deserve Foggy here", another not too friendly gaze in his direction, "being such a bully?"

"Let's just say, last night was ... long", came the explanation.

Foggy involuntarily started to laugh. So this was what the oh-so-good-liar Matt Murdock had come up with? He was almost disappointed. "I bet it was!", he said still grinning.

Karen looked at him coldly. "When you've got yourself the next hangover we'll see how you like it if I laugh at you all day! Honestly, what's gotten into you? I know the two of you and I'm used to your banter but this is..." She was obviously looking for an appropriate word. "Mean", she finished a little lame.

"No, Karen, it's alright, really." Matt tried to calm her down. "I got myself into this position, I'll deal with the consequences. Even if it means constant teasing from Foggy here." With that, he tried to elbow Foggy but missed him by a few inches.

"Is that all you got?" Foggy teased. "Sad, man. Sad!"

"I'd like to see you blindly hitting a moving target", Matt retorted.

"Was that meant to be a pun? You should be ashamed of yourself!" Foggy pretended to be shocked. "I really am reconsidering this whole 'being friends with Matt Murdock'-thing right now."

Karen shook her head, mouth slightly open, an hilarious confused expression on her face.

"I'll mark the day I finally understand the two of you!", she said.

"Good luck with that!", Foggy and Matt responded in unison at which she resigned to her fate and the men started laughing.

* * *

The work day neared it's end and Foggy silently entered Matt's office. His partner was sitting behind his desk, head bent in concentration, and worked through a stack of papers. He obviously hadn't heard the other man approach. Foggy grinned. Being able to sneak up on Matt – something he had been dreaming about for years now. He pushed his luck and tip-toed closer, relying on Matt's focus being entirely on the documents.

When he reached the desk he paused and took a silent breath. He held his hands above the wooden surface, made sure Matt still wasn't aware of his presence and let his palms fall down. The noise of impact was accompanied by a sudden "Watch out!".

The effect was immanent and even more dramatic than Foggy had anticipated. Matt's head snapped up, he pushed his chair back and stood, all within a mere second. He even adopted what looked like half a fighting stance. His head whipped from one side to the other, trying to determine where the danger was coming from.

"Jesus, Matt", Foggy exclaimed. He hadn't intended to startle him that much.

"Foggy?" It almost sounded as if Matt was out of breath.

"Sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to scare you, only wanted to seize the opportunity to sneak up on you for once in my life." He felt slightly sheepish.

Matt visibly relaxed his posture although not to the point at which it looked completely at ease again, felt for the chair that mysteriously had managed not to fall over, pulled it near and sat down again.

"It's alright. My own fault, I shouldn't let my guard go down like this."

"Your guard? Man, you're blind in every sense of the word and you had to focus on reading. How on earth were you supposed to notice someone trying to get near you when that idiotic person did his best not to be heard?"

"You don't understand. There is no excuse good enough for me not to be aware of my surroundings. It could easily cost someone's life."

'Someone's life', not 'my life', Foggy noticed. Typical Matt. He didn't care about himself, never had. Everything that mattered to him was everybody else. Which made Foggy's worrying about him infinitely worse.

He was taken aback by the fierceness in Matt's voice. The reaction was far more serious than he had intended. He didn't know what to say so he settled for a simple apology.

"Anyway, I'm sorry for scaring you, I'm afraid I overdid it."

"It's alright", Matt said again. "I guess it's rather annoying for you, me usually sensing what can only be described as 'too much'. Taking the opportunity of getting revenge seems understandable."

Foggy debated whether this peace offering was strong enough to silence his guilty conscience to the point where it would allow him to pull another prank. The more so as it was a less severe one. Under normal circumstances he was a peaceable type of guy but there was no knowing for how much longer Matt would be without his advantage of hearing's Foggy's heartbeat. So it was seizing the opportunity of being able to tell him half-truths now or never.

In the end, he silenced the voice of kindness in his head by telling it there would be no harm done.

"So, you want me to take you home?" Foggy changed the subject.

Matt tilted his head, obviously not knowing what to make off the sudden act of compassion.

"Oh, come on, dude. I saw you out there today! Letting you go alone would be neglect at least, if not manslaughter. And I don't intend to be disbarred because of you."

"Your trust in my abilities is overwhelming!" Matt said with a small grin that ruined the accusation in his tone.

"Yeah, well, you didn't exactly make it easy to see you as a person who can responsibly be let loose on mankind right now."

Matt let his head hang a few degrees. "You're probably right." He hesitated. "Uhm... so..."

"So?" Foggy asked. He knew very well how much his best friend hated being in need of help and that it was even worse for him to ask for it.

Matt sighed. "Yes, I do want you to take me home. Thanks", he added.

"You're welcome, buddy", Foggy smiled. "Well then? Those papers anything important or can we leave?" He tried to let it sound slightly impatient.

It worked. Matt lifted his head again and tilted it as he often did when he was concentrated, confused or just listening to something.

"What's he hurry? You've got somewhere better to be?"

A mischievous grin spread across Foggy's face. His opening had worked better than expected.

"Well, uhm", he pretended to be a bit embarrassed

"You're meeting someone." It was half statement, half question, underlined with a hint of amusement.

Foggy let his tone switch to slightly defensive. "I do, so?"

"Someone I know?" It was funny, seeing Matt curious. Usually the man just knew about everything but with limited abilities like this... Foggy liked it, he felt less powerless, more like he had the upper hand, had more control over the situation than Matt, for once.

He hemmed and hawed for a moment.

"So I do know her, do I?" Matt concluded.

"It's... It's Marci."

There was silence for a second.

"Marci?" Matt sounded surprised, flabbergasted almost. Foggy saved the moment in his memory to indulged in it later.

"You sure that's a good idea? I don't know about you but I remember the breakup back in the day pretty well."

Foggy was amused about how seriously Matt took this. That he actually believed what Foggy was telling him. He almost felt bad for making fun of the blind man in front of him. Almost.

"That's why I didn't tell you before", he said, trying to sound accusing.

"Before? How long have you been dating her again?"

"I don't know exactly. We got in contact again over the whole Fisk affair, as you know, and somehow one thing lead to the other. She changed!" He pretended to defend her when Matt shook his head in disbelief.

"Guess it's none of my business anyway", Matt surrendered. "Shall we go then? I don't want to make you wait for her any longer", he teased.

"Oh, shut up", Foggy said, half laughing, before he left the room to collect their _coAats._

 _A/N: Thanks for reading! Maybe you've got the time to review? I'd be delighted!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note:  
Ouf, finally finished! I promised myself to get through with this story before 2016 ends and I did it *proud pat on own shoulder* Definitely not one of my better chapters and a short one in addition, but it has to do.  
To those of you who reviewed and seemed to be hoping for this to be a longer story: I'm sorry, it was never intended to cover more than 36 hours or something, as it was a drug dampening Matt's senses and they usually wear off pretty fast. There was no room for more Karen or even Brett, it just wouldn't have fit in... My apologies if you had hoped for more!_  
 _Once again thanks to guest reviewer Sarah! Always a pity that I can't reply personally :-)  
Okay, enough with the talking, have fun reading!_

* * *

Matt found it hard to admit but it definitely was for the better to be brought home. The day had been exhausting, even more so than he had anticipated and he was glad it was almost over. He hadn't known how much he relied on his world on fire even in every day life. Getting to experience how easily he could be robbed of his senses – of more than half his life, in fact – had shaken him. Sure, he would get used to it eventually but it'd take time and he wasn't prepared to lose so much of what he had accomplished just yet.

He would have liked to talk to Father Lantom but didn't want to bother Foggy any further.

Of course, the other man had teased him all day and had seized almost every opportunity to make fun of Matt's sudden blindness, but it had been obvious that most of it was just his way of making both of them forget what this could mean. Matt had felt his best friend's worry, even without heightened senses and although he didn't like to be pitied, he would try not to add anything to Foggy's concerns.

"So, I'll see you in the morning", Foggy said when they'd reached Matt's doorstep. "Eight thirty right here. Try not to trip over something and break your neck."

There it was again, a teasing underlaid with care. And the undiscussed offer to help when it came to the more important and complicated tasks.

"Eight thirty", Matt confirmed. "I'll give my best to be punctual", he added with a grin.

"You better be", Foggy answered and gave him a slight push towards his flat. "And now go, I can't spend my whole evening chatting with you, I've got better things to do", he teased.

"Bet you do", Matt answered. With a last mocking grin at his friend he stepped inside his flat and closed the door behind him.

He silently shook his head. Marci. He couldn't quite believe it. Her relationship with Foggy seemed to have been ages ago. When they still had worked at Landman and Zach. Before Matt had started to patrol the streets of Hell's Kitchen at night. Before their lives had been in danger because they had poked an already wide awake dragon.

And in addition he could still hear Foggy ranting on and on about her when they had met again over the Fisk investigation. He had been quite explicit as to how arrogant she had become and how he didn't understand how he had ever been able to see a single good thing on her.

Plus, hadn't he shown quite some interest in Karen lately? He could very well remember Foggy's reactions to her. How his heartbeat had picked up its pace whenever they were in the same room and how he had tried to get to know her better whenever possible.

How could that have changed so fast? And without Matt noticing... He knew when Foggy was lying, and he could always tell if his best friend was keeping something from him. Had he been too distracted? Had he missed all the signs on his best friend because he was so occupied with his night time activities? So absent minded that he had overlooked that big a change in the person he spent the better part of every day with?

Matt was already feeling the guilty conscience welling up inside him, telling him he was a bad friend and how Foggy had been right about his accusations when he had first learned about Matt's senses. He raised a hand to his head, suddenly even more exhausted than before, when it dawned on him.

He hadn't missed something. He hadn't been unobservant. Foggy had just pulled another prank on him. And Matt had completely fallen for it...

"You..!" He didn't know whether he should be upset or amused. "Guess I have to find a way to pay you back for that one", he said to the already gone man.

He pulled his hand through his hair and carefully moved down the hallway he was still standing in. His flat felt unfamiliar, just as it had the night before. There were obstacles where he didn't remember being some and empty spaces where he thought should be furniture. It was irritating.

After a quick shower and a slice of bread for dinner, he finally settled down on his living room's floor. He didn't dare to hope, but meditating had always improved his healing, so maybe... Maybe it would increase his senses again.

He sat cross-legged on the cold floor boards, taking in deep breaths and exhaling slowly. He concentrated on the rhythm of his chest's movements until he could feel his mind calm down. When there finally no longer were stray thoughts, he focused on his surroundings.

First, the hard surface he was sitting on. Usually, he could feel every nail and every bumpiness in the wood, even through his trousers but not today. It felt perfectly smooth. He could feel the uneasiness inside him rising again, but he forced it down. No use in dwelling on bitter thoughts.

Second, the air around him. It felt perfectly still although he knew there was a steady current from the door to the not completely isolated window. Besides that he couldn't make out the exact temperature. Something around 63°F, he guessed. Or was it 65?

Smell next. Nothing there.

Last, sound. He could hear the traffic on the street in front of his apartment building. An ongoing stream of cars with an occasional siren piercing through. But there were no voices, no steps on the pavement, no TV in the flat next to his.

On each sense, he dwelled for a while. The quarter of an hour, maybe. He didn't know. There was no clock ticking in his apartment that could have helped him measure the time passing. And to be honest, he didn't care, either.

When he had finished, he started all over again, shorter this time but with more concentration.

The ground was still perfectly even, but he imagined feeling the hem of his sweatpants pressing against his ankles. And it was more like 66 degrees in here, wasn't it? Though he still couldn't smell anything, his ears picked up a door being slammed shut and a dog barking in the distance.

He tried not to hope, tried not to let himself believe this meant, he could, maybe, eventually, get back to his former abilities. He denied himself the luxury of being confident before he could be sure it was really happening. But he wasn't able to fully wipe the smile from his face again that had formed when he had first noticed the small improvements in his perception.

He slowly got up, taking the time to try and orientate in his flat, using his senses. It didn't really work, he still was blind in every sense of the word, but he imagined having at least an idea of knowing where everything was around him without having to touch it.

Falling asleep was difficult. Far more so than last night, when his exhaustion had been complete, being both physical and psychological. Plus, it was hardly 11 pm. Usually, at this time he had barely left for patrol and was still hours away from getting to bed.

He used the time to get his thoughts in order. To recall what their current case was about, to remember all the facts and to start formulate the pleading in his head. It was a good mental exercise he rarely ever found the time to do.

Slowly and without really noticing it, he drifted to sleep.

* * *

The sound of his alarm clock almost made him jump out of the bed. The beeping pierced through his sleepy brain and chased away whatever dream had lingered behind. Once he was awake, Matt wondered how he could have slept in the first place, with all the noise that filled his ears.

The noise. It was back! All the sounds he was so used to and that he had missed yesterday, they were back. The talking from the couple three stories below his apartment, the doorbell of the bakery half a block away, the sirens from all over Hell's Kitchen. It was all back. And with it, the smooth feeling of his velvet bedding, the smell of tomato from his dinner of two days ago, the stale taste of the air because he hadn't opened a window in a while and the swirls in the air caused by his breathing.

Matt lay motionlessly for a few minutes, just testing his senses, pushing them to their limits and checking if they were truly fully back. And they were. He once again was able to feel, hear, taste and smell everything.

Once he had gotten up, he was surprised on how easy moving was. 24 hours of being unable to 'see' had been enough to make him forget about his usual possibilities. That his world on fire gave him more knowledge about his surroundings than any normal person got through ordinary vision.

Once again, a smile spread all over his face. He didn't bother wiping it away. He was back to normal so he allowed himself to savor the moment.

Three quarters of an hour later, his doorbell rang. Foggy.

Matt had his stuff ready and was fully dressed, already waiting in his hallway, sunglasses on and cane in hand.

He opened the door and a wave of Foggy washed through his nose.

"Morning!", the other man greeted him. "Have had an uneventful night?"

"Morning", Matt answered. "Yes, indeed. Other than you, I take it?" He questioningly raised an eyebrow although he already knew that Foggy had stayed home alone, eating peanuts, probably in front of his TV. There was not a hint of Marci's odor on him.

"Yeah." He could hear Foggy's heartbeat pick up slightly and sensed him grinning, pleased with himself that he had fooled Matt. "It was great. We went out on a drink and well ... One thing lead to the other, you know."

Now it was Matt's turn to grin maliciously. "If so, why can't I smell either alcohol or her perfume on you?"

Foggy exhaled, obviously disappointed.

"You didn't think you could get away with that, did you?", Matt teased.

* * *

 _A/N: Thanks for reading this short trip into the world of Matt Murdock and my try on testing out what happens when he loses his senses, even for a short time. Would be nice if you'd take the time to review!  
Last but not least: I wish all of you a great New Year's Eve and a happy new year! Have a wonderful 2017!_


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